Lucky Number License Plates

License plates with "significant" numbers are very valuable in Thailand. The first section is a single numbers or multiple lucky numbers, then sequential numbers, varied repeats, thousands, two pairs, one pair, etc. The registration consists of two Thai letters, followed by four numerals. The first Thai letter denotes the vehicle type, in this case private vehicles up to 7 passengers. At the bottom of the plate is the name of the province in full, in this case Krungthep (Bangkok).

The license plates with a different background for each province are available for sale at provincial auctions. The prices go skyrocket for nice or lucky numbers. Each time you see a car with a plate like this, try to imagine how much the guy spent on it… 50,000? 500,000? 1 million Baht or even more? My license plate at an auction brings approximately 550,000. – Baht (17.000,-U$/ 12,500.-Euro)

Bangkok - A government auction of license plates has secured 6.75 million baht (225,000 dollars) for the auspicious number 9999, news reports said Thursday.

Since 2006, the department had held annual auctions on unusual license plate numbers, such as 1111, 8888 and 007, to raise money for its road safety fund, which is used to assist victims of car accidents.

The past five auctions have received bids ranging from 153,666 to 270,370 dollars for the 9999 plate. Under the department's rules, winners must pay 10 per cent of their bid price on auction day and the rest in instalments before they get their plates. This year's winner finally paid all the money Wednesday.

Nine is deemed a lucky number by Thais because it is a synonym for the expression 'gao-nah,' which means 'going forward.'